1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to managing business critical data in a computer, and in particular, to managing different versions of such data.
2. Description of Related Art
Master Data Management™ (MDM) (also known as an MDM application), available from the assignee of the present invention, is an application that allows users to manage their business critical data. This critical data can originate from a myriad of sources and external feeds, but ultimately, the goal is that all of this data be consolidated into a central business data warehouse. Master Data Management™ is the process and framework for maintaining a series of business rules and process workflows that will manage this data as it feeds in from multiple sources. Master Data Management™ then applies these business rules and process workflows to produce “master” data, which is then fed to all consuming business processes.
A common requirement for customers in a Master Data Management™ context is the ability to manage master data across different versions of that data. Specifically, users desire to manage “versions” of hierarchies that contain master data records and master data relationships. Such problems may be better understood with a more detailed explanation of master data and master data relationships.
Core to the management of master data is the definition of a data model. The data model serves as the foundation for all business rules and workflow processes within the Master Data Management™ (MDM) framework. The data model represents the form the master data must ultimately take in the customer's data warehouse to be used by the consuming business applications.
A significant portion of the business critical master data consists of “data relationship” data itself. Relationship data is the data required to manage the association of one piece of data (typically a data entity or table) to another. The Data Relationship can take the form of a hierarchy or a direct reference or any other association. Management of the relationship or association requires data and business processes that are key to the concept of Master Data Relationship Management.
Different versions of both the master data and relationship data may exist in various hierarchies across multiple users. Accordingly, it is desirable to manage and manipulate such different versions.